Analyst Update: Priceline, Lumber Liquidators, Etsy

Analysts are weighing in today on travel issue Priceline Group Inc (NASDAQ:PCLN), hardwood flooring firm Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL), and online marketplace Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), which all reported earnings.

• PCLN is up 5.8% at $1,359.01, and just notched an all-time best of $1,395, as the stock has emerged as one of the day's earnings winners. PCLN reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and offered upbeat current-quarter guidance, prompting a trio of bullish brokerage notes. Specifically, Cowen and Company upped its price target by $100 to $1,500, RBC Capital hiked its target by $200 to $1,600, and Evercore ISI raised its price target to $1,275 from $1,070. The former analysts underscored "outperform" endorsements, with the latter maintaining its "hold" opinion. Meanwhile, Priceline Group Inc's options crowd is likely cheering. On the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.46 stands in the 92nd percentile of its annual range.

• LL, on the other hand, is one of the day's biggest earnings losers. The stock was last seen 25.7% lower at $13.64 -- on the short-sale restricted (SSR) list, and off a six-year low of $13.33. Cantor added salt to LL's wounds by slashing its price target on the equity to $15 from $26. Hurt by public allegations of poisonous materials, Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc has surrendered close to 80% of its value in 2015. As such, it's no surprise to find that more than one-third of the stock's float is dedicated to short interest.

• ETSY is going the way of LL, due to a disappointing sophomore turn in the earnings spotlight. The shares are down 21.9% at $15.02 -- about in-line with options traders' expectations -- below their IPO price of $16. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Etsy Inc to $16 from $19. The stock's plunge placed it on the SSR list, temporarily halting the run to sell ETSY short. In fact, short interest jumped 25.4% during the past two reporting periods, and now accounts for 21.5% of the equity's float. At ETSY's average pace of trading, it would take more than eight sessions for these bearish bets to unwind.